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By Ying Liu | Ownership mindset starts before equity, with the clarity, trust, and responsibility people need to lead like owners.

By Joseph Crabtree | Efficiency creates time, but how AEC firms reinvest that time determines whether quality, culture, and performance actually improve.

By Melanie Carrido | Three decades in AEC show that while technology reshapes our work, strong communication and partnership still determine success.

By Wendy Travis | When partnerships are grounded in purpose and guided by care, they endure – creating better outcomes for clients and communities. 

Building Enduring AEC Firms: VHB’s Approach to Ownership, Balance, and Strategic Renewal     “An infinite arc of success requires stewardship, purpose, and a relentless focus on people.” Mike Carragher, CEO of VHB What does...

By GinaRenee Autrey | AEC marketing doesn’t fail from lack of expertise – it fails when firms keep telling safe stories in increasingly noisy markets.

By Stephen Parker & Mei-Ling Krabbe | The most successful organizations will treat adaptability, personalization, and inclusivity as organizing principles for workplace design.

  Zweig Group is the leading advisory firm for the AEC industry, providing expert guidance across the entire M&A lifecycle. With deep industry knowledge and decades of experience, we help firms navigate transactions, maximize value,...

By Jeremy Clarke | Micromanagement is hated, but accountability often wears that label when underperformance finally meets real leadership attention.

By Shannon Christiansen | As your firms grows, so does your capacity to give back, strengthening both your communities and your culture.

August 1 – LJA Engineering (Houston, TX), an employee-owned engineering firm, acquired G&R Surveying (Austin, TX), a land and civil construction surveying services firm. [More information]  August 1 – HFA (Bentonville, AR), an architecture and...

By Dan Schwartz | Successful M&A communication is achieved through strategy, storytelling, and staying human in the face of complexity.

By Stuart McLendon | This strategy is becoming an essential tool for growth, innovation, and resilience, especially in AEC.

This strategic move underscores a shared commitment to ensuring a sustainable workforce and improving the human experience in AEC.

By Nathan Hamm | Firms must blur the lines between business units to allow for better collaboration, client service, firm growth, and sustainable returns.

By Sara Karstetter | The employee-focused recruiting, retention, and compensation strategy.

By Ezequiel Tovar | Firm owners must have a clear vision, build a solid culture, and celebrate achievements big and small to be good stewards.

By Kyle Lawson | Modern chief financial officers have evolved from controllers to multi-faceted strategic catalysts.

By Dathan Gaskill | A chief financial officer provides critical financial leadership, insight, and guidance to your firm.

By Ezequiel Tovar | Principals must plan for the future, mentor younger staff, and genuinely care for their people to be good stewards of their firms.

By Liisa Andreassen | President and CEO of DOWL, LLC, a firm that offers a wide range of engineering services to public and private clients, from the Arctic Ocean to the Rio Grande.

Zweig Group, a full-service AEC management advisory firm, announced its client Williams + Paddon Architects + Planners has merged with 19six Architects, one of the oldest architectural firms in California. Zweig Group advised Williams +...

By Liisa Andreassen | CFO of Studio+ (Fort Myers, FL), an architecture and interior design firm focused on design solutions that transform lives.

By Liisa Andreassen | President of FEH Design (Dubuque, IA), a full-service architectural, structural engineering, inter design team that’s creating a better world through design.

By Liisa Andreassen | CEO of LaBella Associates (Rochester, NY), a firm with diverse service offerings that can address any aspect of the built or natural environment.

By Liisa Andreassen | Owner of Croft, Inc. (Acworth, GA), a full-service architecture and engineering firm that serves clients nationally in many diverse markets of the public and private sectors.

By Liisa Andreassen | President at MWM Design Group (Austin, TX), a firm that continues to embody its founders’ core values of personal integrity, responsibility, and service.

By Tim Schroeder | Grow your team’s empathy by embracing a culture of feedback, realigning your perspective to view feedback as an opportunity, and becoming coachable.

CEO of Wendel (Williamsville, NY), an innovative AEC and energy efficiency firm that collaborates with clients for a holistic project approach.

LaShawn Stewart-Baylor, founder of Integrated CM Solutions, talks about how she got her first project within days of starting the business, the challenges faced by minority AEC firms, the importance of relationships, and more.

Co-founder and executive vice president of Patel, Greene and Assoc. (Temple Terrace, FL), a firm with a mission to elevate their families, communities, and profession.

President and CEO of Integrated CM Solutions (San Antonio, TX), a program/construction management firm that’s had more than $800 million worth of projects since 2015.

President and CEO of the North American operations of Mott MacDonald (Iselin, NJ), a $2 billion global management, engineering, and development firm.

President and CEO of BSI Engineering (Cincinnati, OH), a consulting and process design engineering firm that’s building on the past to design the future.

Asking questions is a critical skill if you want to understand and anticipate your clients’ needs.

CEO of EDiS (Wilmington, DE), a fifth generation family-owned firm that has been thriving in the same region for more than a century.

Leaders of employee-owned firms must focus on people, transparency, and vision to achieve long-term success.

President and CEO of ARM Group (Hershey, PA), a science and engineering consulting firm where the entrepreneurial spirit thrives.

Sadly, fewer and fewer of us are interested in developing writing, speaking, or other communication skills as a significant professional goal.

Prepare and execute a plan for balance and growth in the three biggest areas of your engineering career: technical ability, social skills, and stewardship of the profession.

When the veteran transportation engineer changed lanes from the public sector to a private firm, he used his blinker and stepped on the gas.

Understanding what fans their flames and what douses their embers will foster a more productive and fulfilling environment for everyone. Editor’s note: This top eight list was borrowed from Tony Morgan, chief strategic officer and...

On this episode of The Zweig Letter podcast, Randy Wilburn had a chance to visit with Mitch Fortner, PE, president of KSA Engineers in Longview, Texas. Mitch joined KSA in 1984 and has been president...

On this episode of the Zweig Letter Podcast, we had a chance to visit with Mitch Fortner, PE, President of KSA Engineers in Longview, TX. Mitch shared some great advice and life lessons that he...

So you got the position you wanted, but that’s just the first step. You have to (help) create something bigger than yourself. Last month I wrote about my good fortune of meeting Art Gensler and...

There are a few ways to transition out of your firm. The internal transition is popular because it has great value and keeps the firm going. At some point in every A/E firm owner’s business...

President and CEO of VHB (Best Firm Civil #23 and Hot Firm #46 for 2017), a 1,400-person firm based in Boston, Massachusetts. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Bottom line, when it’s the right move, and when...

President and CEO of VHB, (Best Firm Civil #23 and Hot Firm #46 for 2017), a 1,400-person firm based in Boston, Massachusetts. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Listening, of course, is incredibly important,” Carragher says. A...

CEO of Woodard & Curran (Hot Firm #80 for 2016), a 1,000-person integrated engineering, science, and operations firm based in Portland, Maine. By Liisa Andreassen Correspondent “Live by the contract; never lose sight of it,”...

As architects and engineers, we need to be on the front line in the campaign against inefficiency and waste. I just listened to an excellent edition of National Public Radio’s TED Radio Hour titled “Finite,”...

By Mark Zweig | Those who are called “principal” should be cognizant of several important aspects of their roles. Here are a few of them.

With a focus on renewable energy and environmental conservation, and a need to improve a vast and aging infrastructure, opportunity abounds. Things are going pretty well for nearly all these days. Those downturn doldrums are...

My Dad, Fred Zweig, died on August 16. He was born in 1920 – lived a long and, for the most part, happy life. He grew up poor in St. Louis. His mom was married...

The market in lighthouses is limited, but due to the history of the structures, the challenges of renovation, and the romantic locations, there’s plenty of takers. By Richard Massey Managing Editor The market in historic...

Being crystal clear on intent and purpose allows you to build a powerful and consistent value proposition. Your organization has a culture and brand, whether by intention or happenstance. When asked about their brand, most...

Press Release: April 21, 2011 FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (April 21, 2011) – Population growth and an overhaul of existing infrastructure are making the civil engineering profession popular, said American Society of Civil Engineers President-elect Andy Hermann,...

By Tracey D. Jeffers One component to a successful banking relationship is having a good understanding of your financial statements. Your ability to readily and intelligently answer questions posed by a banking professional gives loan...

I’ve often thought what it would have been like to live at the turn of the century (1900). Change must have been coming so fast— electricity, indoor plumbing, telephones, and automobiles, along with so many...

Though I’ve always known it, I don’t think I’ve ever written about it— running an ethical business that is socially responsible can pay big dividends. The fact is that the more educated your clients are,...

We all know it. If we cannot train a second generation of leaders who will be able to take over the firm and run it successfully after we are gone, we probably won’t see any...

Air travel is at an all-time high for me. It’s always frustrating... so I couldn’t resist the opportunity to share some of my recent thoughts and observations: E-tickets. It always amazes me when I see...

It’s becoming more apparent to me every day that human resources management as we know it needs a total overhaul. Many human resources experts (staff and consultants) are perpetuating bad advice, and the typical A/E/P...

Exit stage left. If you are like most of our readers, you are probably a CEO, managing partner, president, chairperson, majority stockholder, or major shareholder in the A/E/P and environmental consulting firm you work in....

I said something to my 78 year-old father the other day about going someplace or another to conduct a “management retreat.” His response was, “Why not a management charge?” He went on to say that...